XTERRA Alberta
Vine and Kabush win.
Canadian XTERRA pros Mike Vine and Danelle Kabush made dramatic comebacks to the XTERRA World Tour with wins at the XTERRA Alberta off-road triathlon on Sunday.
Kabush’s return is nothing short of phenomenal having delivered her second child (Nico) just three months ago on May 19th.
“After doing two short hour-long XTERRA Duathlons in June and July I was ready to test my endurance for a full XTERRA,” said Kabush (pictured above at last year’s USA Championship race). “I had a blast and felt better than expected with a good finishing kick home on the run after nearly three hours of racing! So excited to be feeling so strong three months post-birth but will still need to work on continuing to build fitness for the two months of the season that remains. Luckily I’m raring to go and highly motivated with my first real race of the season starting mid-August, and continued thanks to baby Nico who has let me sleep pretty much all through the night since week one!”
Kabush has three big races to go with XTERRA Canada on Sept. 5 in Whistler, then the USA Championship in Utah Sept. 25 and the World Championship in Maui October 24. Remember, Kabush was second at XTERRA Worlds in 2008 (less than a minute behind Dibens) following the birth of her daughter Zoe.
As for the race itself, Kabush explained “The conditions were near perfect on Sunday – clear green mountain lake with the temp just right for a wetsuit, mountain bike trails were a bit greasy and muddy in sections from recent rain but most of it was nice and tacky so ideal, and the run was one of my favorites – windy, fast up and downs through mainly single track on loamy soil.  I took the lead for good half way through the first of two mountain bike laps, other than one quick pass back when Tanis Tomlin (2nd woman who I used to mountain bike race against) went by. The mountain bike course was the most technical I’ve ever done in an XTERRA but with great flow and plenty of places to pass, the run was also super fun – pretty much all single track in the woods.”
As for the “Vineman,” he got a real job working for a refrigeration service company in the “Great White North” back in May and hadn’t raced since XTERRA Saipan in March.
“It was a big shift this year moving up north to Edmonton to start full time work in a new career. It’s a fairly physical job working on rooftops in the sun (or snow soon) and I left the prime training grounds of B.C. No mountains here in the oil patch, and no hills longer than three minutes but still plenty of trails along the river valley and ravines,” said Vine.
“I didn’t know what to expect in Canmore having not raced since March, so it sure was a nice surprise when it went so well. Granted Canmore is tailor made for me with the altitude, big mountains, shorter swim, vertical bike, and plenty of track over the ride and run. It was a perfect tune-up for the upcoming Canadian Nationals in Whistler, which could be tougher with longer distances all around and a hillier run.  My lack of mileage may catch up with me there, but regardless, I’m really looking forward to it.”
TOP 5 MEN
1 Â Mike VINE – 2:09
2 Â Luke WAY – 2:19
3 Â Mike CABIGONÂ – 2:22
4 Â Simon PULFREYÂ – 2:25
5 Â David ROBERTS – 2:28Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
TOP 5 WOMEN
1 Â Danelle KABUSHÂ – 2:43
2 Â Tanis TOMLIN – 2:45
3Â Â Nancy BURDEN – 3:02
4Â Â Kelly GEISHEIMER – 3:04
5Â Â Â Richelle LOVEÂ – 3:15
